This board scares me

[vcgirl925]

Haven't been to disney in GASP a whole year. So much has changed in a year. Like always I come here when I start planning my next trip. You all have me scared! Almost to the point of not wanting to go anymore, or at least for awhile. If you look through the threads their seems to be more negative than positive. I've read everything about FP + and I'm not thrilled with only three a day and in only one park (we would FP- like it was our business). With all that said we have a trip to beach club mid September. I'm willing to give the new system a try. I'm hoping with fp+, rider swap, going during a lower crowd time, emh, rope drop, and single rider we can make the best of this. Can anyone offer some good advice to make the new system work? Tips and strategies to have a good time? Or something good that happened on a recent trip?

 

[JimmyV]

I'm hoping with fp+, rider swap, going during a lower crowd time, emh, rope drop, and single rider we can make the best of this.

I think you pretty much have it down. The negativity comes from the fact that this board is populated by people who have gone to WDW often through the decades, learned the strategies over the years for maximizing ride time, have seen prices go up, and have now been confronted by a system that ensures fewer rides without any concommitant reduction in price. People who plan a workaround by finding enjoyment in ways other than rides, and people who were never park commandos to begin with will be perfectly satisfied with the new world order. Those who view their Disney successes and failures measured by total number of rides on headliner attractions will predict (and likely notice) a decline in overall enjoyment. Only you know which camp you are in. To put it in concrete terms, if your days at DHS involved ping-pong-ing back and forth between TSM, ToT and RnR with multiple fastpasses, those days are over. If your days at DHS involved riding those rides once per day and enjoying the visual of walking down the Streets of America, you will not notice any difference at all.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I was in WDW for 2 weeks in January - crowds similar to September. Sice you are going in a low crowd period, you should be fine. We have no real complaints about our trip in January.

 

[myhouseofmouse]

People hate change, but to cancel your trip because of the changes due to FP+ does not make sense. IT IS STILL DISNEY!!!!

I have always, and would recommend using the boards to make a better planned trip. There is a lot of good info on the whole new system with real opinions that give real info on it. Some of the changes are good and some are not as good for some of us. Plan around those changes and maximize the improved opportunities in the new system.

Have a great trip!!!

 

[clsteve]

I think you pretty much have it down. The negativity comes from the fact that this board is populated by people who have gone to WDW often through the decades, learned the strategies over the years for maximizing ride time, have seen prices go up, and have now been confronted by a system that ensures fewer rides without any concommitant reduction in price. People who plan a workaround by finding enjoyment in ways other than rides, and people who were never park commandos to begin with will be perfectly satisfied with the new world order. Those who view their Disney successes and failures measured by total number of rides on headliner attractions will predict (and likely notice) a decline in overall enjoyment. Only you know which camp you are in. To put it in concrete terms, if your days at DHS involved ping-pong-ing back and forth between TSM, ToT and RnR with multiple fastpasses, those days are over. If your days at DHS involved riding those rides once per day and enjoying the visual of walking down the Streets of America, you will not notice any difference at all.

Nail, meet hammer. Well put.

 

[rebeccalancaster]

I was pretty worried too!! I even decided to stay off the boards for fear of cancelling! I decided to make the best of whatever happened!!! I planned my days (I did parks that didn't have extra magic hours - they always seem more crowded to me), i booked my fastpasses, and then i just breathed. Its Disney. Walking into magic kingdom I just felt "home". Things happen, plans get disrupted. You can choose to let it ruin your trip, or you can roll with it and make adjustments. When we had a curveball, we just allowed for the change. I hope you have an amazing time!!

 

[Sammie]

Haven't been to disney in GASP a whole year. So much has changed in a year. Like always I come here when I start planning my next trip. You all have me scared! Almost to the point of not wanting to go anymore, or at least for awhile. If you look through the threads their seems to be more negative than positive. I've read everything about FP + and I'm not thrilled with only three a day and in only one park (we would FP- like it was our business). With all that said we have a trip to beach club mid September. I'm willing to give the new system a try. I'm hoping with fp+, rider swap, going during a lower crowd time, emh, rope drop, and single rider we can make the best of this. Can anyone offer some good advice to make the new system work? Tips and strategies to have a good time? Or something good that happened on a recent trip?

Do not give it a a thought. There are many of us who have tried it and like it just fine.

We are simply tired of arguing about it with those that have labeled those that do like it, lazy, stupid, Disney kool-aid drinkers.

We liked the flexibility it gave us to know in advance what major rides we had booked and when. It was easier to plan meals and such in advance.

 

[rebeccalancaster]

Nail, meet hammer. Well put.

Loved this!!! Exactly!

 

[shalom]

Can anyone offer some good advice to make the new system work?

Don't panic and have a positive attitude.

JimmyV sums it up well -- using FPs multiple times a day isn't going to happen, so if you did that a lot it's going to be a big change. If you only averaged three FPs a day anyhow, it may still be an adjustment, but not nearly so much of one.

I had friends who went to WDW multiple times a year in the eighties; sometime in the nineties they quit going and told me Disney "has lost it, not worth going any more, out of date and broken down, crowds are terrible, can't have any fun there," and so on. When I went, years later, I had an even better time at WDW than I had at Disneyland my one visit in the 1970s, and saw nothing of the chipped paint and other problems people had been complaining about on the boards. It's my believe that people get burned out on Disney, people have always gotten burned out on Disney, and changes to the system can make that fact blindingly obvious.

But if you're not Disney-ed out or anywhere near, and especially if you didn't use a lot of FPs, probably won't be a big deal for you.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[skater]

I'm not a fan of fp+, but I still love Disney. I even like to post negative things about the new system, but I will still have an amazing time on my upcoming trip. The more negative posts are easy to spot- I suggest staying away from them if they bother you. Go and enjoy the little things that make Disney unique, and be glad you're going in September (my favorite time). You'll be happy you went .

 

[heathsf]

It's Disney. It's still going to be amazing and magical. You know all the things you can do to maximize rides (RD, FP+, EMH... etc.) and you will have an amazing trip. Enjoy it!

 

[Shaden]

As others have noted, in Sept, you are going to be golden, no worries really because FP+ shouldn't limit you too much on what you are going to be able to do.

The crowds are going to be low, so your wait times will be low as well.

No you wont be able to pull many FPs, but if doing RD and EMH during low season, you are going to be able to get in a lot of attractions.

 

[PoohsFan1]

People hate change, but to cancel your trip because of the changes due to FP+ does not make sense. IT IS STILL DISNEY!!!!

I second this

We are planning a trip for the end of May/beginning of June and this will be our first time with the whole FP+ and MBs. Our last trip was in October and we weren't one of the lucky ones to try out the new system. I too am a little nervous about this change but will welcome it with open arms. I am looking at it the same way as if we were playing a new board game. I can read the directions a hundred times, and I still wouldn't understand what we are suppose to do, but once we get going and start playing it, it becomes clear to us. I will still be reading as much info on these boards about FP+ just so I can get a grasp of it before we leave since the rest of my family will be looking to me to give them answers to their questions. Good luck planning and don't stress too much

 

[DisneyDude71]

It's Disney. It's still going to be amazing and magical. You know all the things you can do to maximize rides (RD, FP+, EMH... etc.) and you will have an amazing trip. Enjoy it!

Yep! That in a nutshell!

 

[crazyventures]

People hate change, but to cancel your trip because of the changes due to FP+ does not make sense. IT IS STILL DISNEY!!!!

I don't necessarily agree with this because you're assigning a value judgment to another person's trip. The current state of the FP+ program might be a deal-breaker for some when they weigh the pros/cons (when they're going, where they're staying, how much they're paying for a trip, how far they have to travel, how often they go to WDW, how important the "big ticket" rides are, alternative vacation options, etc).

 

[jade1]

This board scares me

Like always I come here when I start planning my next trip. You all have me scared! Almost to the point of not wanting to go anymore, or at least for awhile. If you look through the threads their seems to be more negative than positive.

Yea that's really too bad about this board.

I say go and have fun.

 

[JimmyV]

People hate change, but to cancel your trip because of the changes due to FP+ does not make sense. IT IS STILL DISNEY!!!!

I second this

I think we need to be a bit careful here. It is not crazy for someone who has been to WDW 10 times to say: "You know, this new system is still in flux, appears to be in need of some tweaking, and doesn't seem to present us with what we are used to. Maybe now is the time to take that trip to (fill in the blank) that we have been contemplating and re-visit WDW in the future." There is a big beautiful world out there beyond the castle walls in Central Florida. I can't say that postponing a trip to WDW "does not make sense" if there are other places one wants to go, and vacation dollars are an allocated resource.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Like so many here have posted, many long time wdw visitors have thier systems and don't like any change!

Disney Magic and Pixie dust is still there and always will be.

Enjoy your trip, we all will get the hang of the new system. It seems much of the earlier bugs have been worked out. The compliants now are mostly the ones who just don't want the changes period.

AKK

 

[clsteve]

I think we need to be a bit careful here. It is not crazy for someone who has been to WDW 10 times to say: "You know, this new system is still in flux, appears to be in need of some tweaking, and doesn't seem to present us with what we are used to. Maybe now is the time to take that trip to (fill in the blank) that we have been contemplating and re-visit WDW in the future." There is a big beautiful world out there beyond the castle walls in Central Florida. I can't say that postponing a trip to WDW "does not make sense" if there are other places one wants to go, and vacation dollars are an allocated resource.

Again, well put.

 

[flatlandcycle]

The bugs are still prevalent. Your experience changing fastpass selections is likely to involve phone support. The android app won't connect to the database. The webpages aren't updated to allow changes.